Gate.



J. Q. PRIMM.

GATE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1909.

Patented 00b. 12, 1909.

ANDREW & emu O0. Hww-LmmRAPHERs. WAS

eaexzss.

JOHN Q. PRIIVIM, 0F LINCOLN, ILLINOIS.

GATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 12, 1909.

Application filed June 2, 1909. Serial No. 499,633.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN Q. PRIMM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lincoln, in the county of Logan and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Gate, of which the following is aspecification.

The objects of the invention are, generally, the provision, in amerchantable form, of a device of the class above mentioned, which shallbe inexpensive to manufacture, facile in operation, and devoid ofcomplicated parts; specifically, the provision of a gate of thecharacter specified, of novel and improvedconstruction, of means forsupporting and for operating said gate; of novel means for assemblingthe supporting and operating means with'the gate; of novel means forupholding the gate in an open or in a closed position; other and furtherobjects being made manifest hereinafter as the description oftheinvention progresses.

The invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement ofparts hereinafter described, delineated in the accompanying drawings,and particularly pointed out in that portion of this instrument whereinpatentable novelty is claimed for certain distinctive and peculiarfeatures of the device, it being understood that, within the scope ofwhat hereinafter thus is claimed, divers changes in the form,proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be made,without departing from the spiritor sacrificing any of the advantages ofthe in vention.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to denote corresponding partsthroughout the several figures of the drawmgs.

In the accompanying drawings :-Figure 1 shows in perspective, a gate,constructed in accordance with my invention, and disposed in a closedposition; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one of the arms whereby thegate proper is supported and manipulated.

In the accompanying drawings the gialiie e proper is denoted by thenumeral 1. gate comprises horizontal members 2, which are united byuprights 3 and 4, the upright 4: being longer than the upright 3, andarranged to upstand above the upper edge of the gate. The horizontalmembers which are disposed adjacent the upper edge of the gate 1, areterminally extended beyond the end of the gate, as denoted by thenumeral 5. One or more of the horizontal members 2 may be so extended;in the present instance, I have extended three of them, and united theirextremities by means of a terminal up right 6. This terminal upright 6,like the upright 4, is arranged to upstand above the upper edge of thegate. A diagonally disposed brace 7 is provided, the rear extremity ofwhich may be assembled with the upper extremity of the terminal upright6, the opposite extremity thereof being assembled with the upright 4intermediate its ends. The upright 6 and the diagonal brace 7 exercisethe function of attaching members for certain portions of the devicewhich will be described hereinafter, and those portions of the members 6and 7 which are disposed beyond the end of the gate will be referred tohereinafter as the extension members. I further provide, in carrying outmy invention, spaced, parallel runners 8, upon which the device rests.Rising from the runners 8 are struts 9 and 10. The struts 9 are disposedopposite each other, relatively near to one end of the runners 8.Adjacent the other end of the runners 8 are mounted the struts 10,which, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, are, compared with the struts 9, ofrelatively great length. These struts 9 and 10 are adapted to support anopen frame 11, the component members of which are suitably bracedtogether upon their upper edges, as denoted by the numeral 12.

In order to render the structure rigid I have provided a truss frame14:, which, at its ends, is terminally assembled with the struts andwith the runners 8, from which the struts rise. This truss frame isduplicated upon either side of thedevice, as shown in Fig. 1. From theopen frame 11 inclined braces 15 rise into connection with the struts10, adjacent their upper ends.

The gate proper 1 is assembled with the open frame 11 by means of arms16 and 17, and, since the said arms are alike in construction, adescription of one of them will suflice for the other. Referringparticularly to Fig. 2, it will be seen that these arms are fashionedfrom diverging strips 18. A tube 19 is disposed between the strips,intermediate their ends, and serves to space the strips apart. A bolt 20unites the strips 18 at their lower ends, their upper ends being unitedby means of bolts 21 and 22, the bolt 22, which. is located at the upperextremity of the arm, carrying a collar 23, disposed between the upperends of the strips 18 and adapted to space the same apart.

Disposed within the open frame 11 is a ceunterpoise weight, which, inthe present instance, takes the form of a box, closed at the bottom, andadapted to receive boulders, sand, or other heavy substance. This box25, which constitutes the counterpoise weight, is pivotally assembledwith the lower ends of the arms 16 and 17 by means of the bolts 20, uponwhich the said'box rests. The arms 16 and 17 in their turn are supportedupon transverse pivot members 2 1, which, being introduced into thetubes 19, extend terminally beyond the strips 18, to engage the sides ofthe open frame 11.

The ends of the runners 8 are united by a transverse brace 26, which, asclearly shown in Fig. 1, is adapted to serve as a support upon which therear end of the gate is adapt ed to rest when the same is in closedposition. The lower ends of the long struts 10 are provided with guideplates 27 extending toward each other and adapted to receive betweenthem and to guide in its movement, the gate 1, when the same is operatedas hereinafter described. The free end of the gate is adapted to beengaged, when the gate is in closed position, by a post 29, comprisinglaterally spaced members 30, between which the end of the gate 1 isadapted to fit. These spaced members 30 are united adjacent. the surfaceof the ground by means of a transverse cleat 31, which, coacting withthe brace 26, serves to support the gate when in a closed position.Intermediate their ends the spaced members 30 are united by atransversely disposed striking plate 32, which is adapted to receive theend of the latch-bar 33, the same being adapted to slide in thedirection of its length upon oneof the horizontal members 2 whichcomprise the gate, lateral movement in the latch-bar 33 being preventedby means of the uprights 3 and 4 which inclose it.

In order that the latch-bar 33 may stand normally in a positionoperative to engage the post 29, retractile springs 34 are terminallyassembled with the latch-bar, intermediate its ends, and with one of thehorizontal members 2. Operating members 35, which may be fashioned fromcord, wire, cable or the like, are terminally assembled with thelatch-bar 33, intermediate the springs 3st and the post 29. Thesemembers 35 rise into connection with the upper end of the arm 16, and,being continued upwardly, pass over pulleys, which are carried by across-piece 36, uniting the upper extremities of the long struts 10.Beyond the cross-piece the mem hers extend in opposite directions,passing over pulleys which are carried by posts 37, conveniently locatedupon either side of the gate.

Passing now to the immediate means whereby the arms 16 and 17 areassembled with the gate, it will be seen that the former is pivotallyassembled with the upper extremity of the upright 4:, above the top ofthe gate. The arm 17 is pivotally assembled with the extension memberhereinbefore described, and the union between the arm 17 and theextension member is disposed. at once above the gate and to the rearthereof. 1 have used the term extension member to signify, generally,the terminal upright 6 and the diagonal brace 7, it being obvious thatthe arm 17 may be assembled with either the upright 6 or the diagonalbrace 7 without impairing the utility of the device, provided that thepivotal union between the arm 17 and the extension member be locatedabove and to the rear of the gate proper. If desired, either thediagonal brace 7 or the terminal upright 6 may be dispensed with.However, the particular construction disclosed in Fig. 1 will be foundto be rigid and satisfactory in operation.

I consider it to be advantageous that the upper extremities of the arms16 and 1'7 are assembled, respectively, with the upright 1 and with theextension member, above the gate proper. By this construction I amenabled, without lengthening the space bc tween the pivot member 2 1 andthe lower bolt 20, to employ a deeper weight-box than would be possibleif the arms 16 and 17 were pivotally assembled with the body proper ofthe gate. Moreover, I regard it as of importance that the brace 7 andthe terminal upright 6 unite to form an extension member which projectsrearwardly beyond the gate proper. By uniting the arm 17 with therearward extension of the gate I am enabled to employ a longerweight-box than would be possible with any other construction of which Iam now aware.

As shown in the drawing, the transverse brace 26 may be provided with aring or other suitable means whereby ateam of draft animals may behitched to the gate. The runners S serve as a means whereby the gate mayreadily be drawn from place to place, and, when in the desired location,sills 33 may be inserted beneath the runners S, to space them from theground and. to prevent their rotting away. The gate is thus made readilyportable, and, in the fall of the year, may be drawn into a shed andhoused from the elements until occasion for its use again arises.

The principle upon which my device operates is not new, and a briefdescription of the manipulation of the same will suiiice.

When the extremities of the operating mem bers 35 are drawn upon, thelatch-bar 38 will first be withdrawn from contact with the post- 29, thearms 16 and 17 subsequently rising and retracting the gate 1 between thestruts 10, into a position above the open frame 11. WVhen it is desiredto move the gate into the closed position shown in Fig. 1, a pull uponthe operating member 35 will tilt the gate from its open position to theclosed position shown in the drawings, the gate rising from its bearingupon the open frame 11 and moving outward and downward into engagementwith the cleat 31 and the transverse brace 26, the counter-poise weightrepresented in the first figure by the box and its contents, causing thegate to pass smoothly, evenly, and without jar, or undue exertion uponthe part of the opera tor, into a closed or into an open position, asmay be.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire toprotect, by Letters Patent, is

A device of the class described comprising arms, each includingdiverging strips; a tube disposed between the strips, intermediate theirends, and arranged to space the strips apart; transverse elementsuniting the ends of the strips; a pivot member disposed within the tubeand terminally extended beyond the strips; means engaging the extendedportions of the pivot member for supporting the arms; a gate pivotallycarried by the upper ends of the arms; and a counterpoise weightpivotally carried by the lower ends of the arms.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afliXedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN Q. PRIMM.. Witnesses:

F. A. KEYS,

CHARLES J. GEHLBAOH.

